A sleep like death, so cold, so bitter, so meaningless. Trapped in a tank only 40 feet wide, 40 feet long, and 40 feet high. It's walls a prison for a creature unknown to man. Half merman, half dragon. His lower body fish like or more like a merman's tail. Every scale his body holds is his most valuable memories. Memories that he'll never pass on. As he is the only one of his kind. No one like him. No one to see or speak to, or to understand. They called him Keith, last name unknown. He was their pet, their animal. Every day he was fed on good behavior.
These people that raised him he called The LAB. (lesser abnormal beings). His life was normal to him. But ever since he saw the weirdest looking, yet beautiful creature of his life pass by his tank, he longed for answers of who he or she was almost as much as he longed for the what was called Outside. He had heard the term before but never seen it himself.He only knew that they called it Sarah. That name made him feel warm and gave him hope. Every day this Sarah would visit and take notes on the way he spoke or in his case tried to communicate with it. It would wear different things. Some covering her limbs all the way, other partly.
It had no tail, only two weird looking arms that it would move on. He had gotten used to it calling him by his given name Keith. He knew when it would call for him; yet every time it did, it would make a weird face. He liked to copy it. It would have made him giggle. "Keith" Sarah called. He swam to its call. Sarah made the same weird face as he copied it. It seemed to continue speaking when he did. He had learned a few words from it.
Like freedom and girl, he learned he was what it called a boy. He learned how to read but not speak its language. "What do you say about me giving you freedom" Sarah asked. It said the word freedom. It had to mean something good. He turned yellow. He wanted to be set free. He wanted to leave this place. Before Sarah could free him The LAB workers started to come. "Hey you, what are you doing in here" yelled a LAB worker. Sarah ran. "Hey wait, stop" called the worker running after her. Another worker looked at Keith with a look that your mother has when you do something wrong. Keith knew him as "the leader".
He was the one that took care of him.As punishment for interacting with others they chained him up in his tank, limiting his movements. He hated what The LAB was doing to him. He wanted to be free. His heart aced for it. He waited it's return as hours went by. Then it came. It walked in and had a smaller tank filled with water. It looked at him with sadness and worry. It confused him. Why was it helping him? It didn't understand him yet it risked its life to free him, why? It began to climb a water pipe as reached the top of his tank. Sarah jumped in and began to swim in a way Keith never thought possible. It kicked it's lower two limbs and paddled its arms. This creature confused and fascinated him more and more with every minute.
It pulled at the chains then pulled out a... a small sword. It used it to undo the chains and free him. Free from his ties he swam up as fast as he could and jumped into the smaller tank outside of the only place he called home. It jumped out of the lager tank and pushed Keith outside. He had never seen the thing called outside. It was so black and cold. He watched as it pushed him towards a floating wooden leaf in a river. It pushed over the tank and he fell into the river. Sarah hopped into the wooden leaf and began to flow downstream. Keith followed curious of where it may be heading. Slowly the outside changed colors. It faded from black to shapes of different things. Things green, tan, brown, light blue, and white. He followed it to a building where there was a dock. It docked and began to leave on the tan like color. He couldn't let it leave. He had questions. He grabbed its hand and looked it in the eyes. Sarah only made the weird face and patted his hand. It walked into the building farther into the tan color and disappeared leaving him alone. It soon came back with a pen and paper like the worker. It wrote its name down and pointed to itself. He watched as it explained it was a girl, it's life and what things were. Months went by as Sarah showed him her pet. It was a strange little thing. Small, white and round. It had two little eyes and limbs like hers but tiny. It called it Peteu (pet-two).
Peteu seemed to throw up the tan colored stuff it walked on when dizzy or dazed. He was a funny little thing and he seemed to understand Keith. Keith learned lots He learned so many things it blew him mind how much he had been missing out. But when Sarah told him about his parents he was shocked. He had parents, people that loved him. They had died to save him and his kind. But failed to keep him out of harm's way. Keith picked up his mother's scales, as everyone held a memory. He closed his eyes and he could see and hear that memory.He was in The LAB again, his parents looked so fearless. His father had legs like Sarah. His mother a tail like him. They held things called swords as they fought. He watched as his mother held him in one arm and fought with the other. She also was made. She was never supposed to be created. And yet she was. He watched as his father was killed and mother weak and dying. She had hidden his quickly and as she began to leave he as a baby wouldn't let go. She kissed him on the forehead as she turned away and disappeared into the maze of halls. He saw as a human found him and called him keith. It was the man he knew as "the leader".
The LAB wanted his kind's power to explore the depths of the ocean to get its resources by taking the life or killing a Halfling. The humans ran The LAB; they were driven by their thirst for power. But some like Sarah were good. Keith knew if his kind were to survive they needed to disappear. They had to destroy The LAB and everything in it. Then disappear off the face of the earth. So that was the plan. To disappear. Keith and took a sword as Sarah armored up. He couldn't help but watch her from outside. This person had saved him even though he could have been dangerous.He watched as she put her chest plate on and looked at him. Her face grew red as she closed the window and curtain. He frowned as he shushed himself on the tan color that he soon learned was called "sand". He dragged himself toward her house as he couldn't help but think about her beauty. Over the past few months he'd grown to liking her. Then the thought hit him. What if she died saving him? What would he do then?As his mind raced, Sarah emerged from the house. She looked at him and blushed. "you know staring at people is rude" she said. He didn't respond. Instead his eyes roamed her body.
The armor she wore was a grey color with hints of a deep blue tint. "ready to go" she asked as she snapped her fingers in front of his face. Keith blinked several times snapping him out of his thoughts. He nodded and slipped back into the water.He followed underwater as she flowed down stream toward The LAB. Keith swam next to Sarah as he wanted to say so many things. "thanks you" he said suddenly. Sarah looked down. "thank you for saving me and changing my life. So thank you Sarah" he said with a smile as his face turned red. Before he knew it they were there. Excitement and fear grew in his heart as he didn't know where his journey would go. Would it end here? Or continue? The thought of this being his last day scared him.Keith dragged himself out of the water and moved toward The LAB doors. Sarah held her sword at the ready as keith distracted the guards. He saw as she slipped through the doors and into The LAB.
He swung his sword at the guards as one by one they fell to the ground lifeless. He moved into The LAB and began to set fire to everything in the building. Computers, files, records, DNA, hair samples, everything he burned up.He looked past the intense heat of the flames as Sarah was pinned against the tank. Without thinking he rushed over, passing through the flames as it ate at his skin. He got in front of her and raised his sword. he had learned the truth about himself and his parents. He had learned so much, English, love, fear, worry, colors, even to read. If today was his last day, then so be it. He couldn't be happier to say he had lived his life to the best of his capability.He fought hard, swinging his sword and throwing punches as every breath he took poisoned his body. Every breath took less and less oxygen and more smoke slowly killing and weakening him. Every now and then he'd look back at Sarah who was passed out on the ground. The roof began to collapse as it trapped him and Sarah. Flames grew like a dried out ground being given water. He knew that he may not make it out himself but maybe Sarah would.
He picked her up and moved through the flames and thick black smoke.His skin burned and blistered as the heat slowly ate him up. He couldn't stop now he was too close to freedom, but not for himself. For Sarah. Every breath he took poisoned him more and more. Feet away from freedom he heard sirens. No one else could know he was alive. He set Sarah in the doorway, while being careful to stay in the shadows as he moved away from the only person that showed him kindness. He disappeared into the flames as he let them eat him up. He was never meant to be in this world and so it was only right that he disappeared for good. He was at peace with death. Maybe this is what he had been fighting so hard to live for. To return home with his parents in the clouds.
